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Get Over Your Breakup With Ease and Grace

Sally asks: "My ex and I dated for three years. It was a rough ride for the most part, and he wasn't a very good person with or for me. Still, it's
been weeks since he ended it and I can't seem to let go. I'm crying
constantly and lonely, miss him terribly and try to come up with stupid
ways to connect. How do I move on from this relationship once and for
all?"

First Sally, let me give you a huge, virtual hug. We've
all been there, and I think oodles of folks and understand and
appreciate exactly what you're going through. Breakups are never easy, especially when you know it's time to move on but your body and brain have different ideas.

Over
the years I've worked through a few breakups of my own and have
supported numerous readers through their own difficult breakups.
Although I've never undertaken a scientific study,
and have yet to find one that specifically gives concrete advice on how
to get over a particularly difficult loss quickly and with ease, I have
found a few tactics that seem to work almost universally.

They may seem weird or out-of-synch as to where
you're at right now. Try them if you can, just a few minutes every day,
and after a week or so, feel free to comment on this article and let me
know if they worked for you, or if you found something else.

Start Clearing the Clutter

No,
I don't mean in your house or even to purge yourself of your ex's
things. Instead, let's take a look at your mind, and what's cluttering
it up with regards to your relationship.

This tactic came from a book by noted UK hypnotist Paul McKenna, I Can Make You Confident (Buy Direct).
In the book, he devotes a very small chapter to abused spouses and
partners struggling to detach themselves from a damaging relationship.
Now, I'm not saying that your relationship was abusive in any way,
because it doesn't sound like it was. But what I am suggesting is that
you try out an idea that has worked for people in one of the worst
relationship situations, and has enabled them to move on peacefully.

I
highly recommend purchasing or taking McKenna's book out from the
library if you want more information. In a nutshell, however, here's a
paraphrased version of what he suggests:

Take a moment to
close your eyes, and think about a negative experience you and your ex
shared together. Really put yourself in those shoes again, as if you
were living it all over. Use all of your senses and make the experience
even brighter and louder in your mind. Now, think of another negative
event with your ex, and do the same thing. After you've really it up,
string the two events together and tie them, as if no time had passed.
Do this again for another two incidents, so you have four altogether.
Now think of all four over and over, round and round, until they don't
seem to have as much weight in your mind anymore. Then, push the images
of those events away from you, as if they were in a picture far, far
away. Turn the picture into a black and white photo, and push it back
even further. Then, let the picture fall, and allow it to gently float
away from you and disappear.

Another visualization
exercise that I learned years ago, is one where you "cut" ties to your
ex. Not in a mean or malicious way, but rather, to untether yourself
from your ex and the relationship. I can't remember who shared this
nugget of wisdom with me, but here's how to do it:

Close
your eyes, and picture yourself standing up next to your ex. Now,
imagine a line between the two of you that connects you somehow. It
could be a rope, electromagnetic force, or anything outside of yourself
that really represents your connection. Whatever comes to mind, think
about that connection for a few moments. Is it rock-hard, or really easy
to break? Is it malleable or only flows in one direction? Does it
extend a fair distance, or does it keep you close together? Once you've
fleshed out this connection, I want you to imagine some scissors,a
hacksaw, or another cutting implement, and for you to sever the
connection between you. If more tendrils show up, cut them too, until
there's nothing left between you. Once you're sure everything has been
cut, imagine yourself walking away from your ex, and into a bright,
beautiful future full of the things you've always dreamed of.

More about visualization for relationships:

Cutting the Cords to Toxic Relationships

Infinity Exercise

Hopefully,
those two exercises have helped you feel moderately better. You can do
them as much as you'd like, although I find most folks only need to do
them once or twice to feel good.

Feeling Better

Now that
you've cleared some of the residual feelings and negativity from your
mind that has surrounded you since the breakup, it's time to start
feeling better. I have a huge list of ideas and inspiration in the
article called Feel Better After a Breakup,
and I urge you to take a look after reading this. Either way, I suggest
you find at least two, and up to five, things that you can do every
single day for yourself that make you feel great, and that help
you fill your time. Keeping busy, even if it is a bit cliche, does
help, and soon enough you'll have so many new things going on that you
truly love and are passionate about, you won't even have time to think
about your ex. Instead, you'll be focusing on your future.